Improvement in legislative voting apparatus



j A CRISWELL SShees--SheetL Legislat-vel Voting Appratus. 142,002.Patented August19,1873.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. CRISWELL. Legislative Voting Apparaus. 142,002.

Patented August 1&3. 1873.

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Patented August 19, 1873.-

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UNITED STATES PATENT .EEICE JAMES A. GRISVELL, OF MIFFLINTOVN,PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN LEGISLATIVE VOTING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,002, dated Augustl5), 1873; applic-ation tiled December 2e, i872,

To all whom it may concern.: s

Be it known that I, JAMES A. GarswELL, of Miftlintown, in the county oi'Juniata and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Voting, Ste., Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawingsmaking a part ot' this specification, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of my machine for voting inposition. Fig. 2 is a side view of same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transversesection of my voting machine. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 1l aredetails of same.

This invention has relation to a legislative vote -register, the actionot' which depends upon the use, as voting mediums, of white and blackballs, the former color, for instance, representing aye, and the latternay;77 and consists in the construction and arrangement ot deviceswhereby the aye and nay votes and the total are severally indicated uponseparate dials, the mechanism appertaining directly to which is operatedby the weight of the balls, the same being transferred, by suitabletubes, from the members7 desks to receptacles suspended from saidmechanism. The novelty consists in the con struction and arrangement ofdevices whereby the balls, after being weighed and the desired resultobtained, are transferred from their weighing-receptacles, located belowthe assembly-room, tothe keeping and control of the assembly-clerkpresent in the assembly-room, to be redistributed among the members. Thenovelty also consists in the construction and arrangement of the partsof the clerks distributing-desks essential to the proper distribution ofthe balls, and of the parts of the members7 desks provided for thecasting ot' the votes.

rlhe apparatus which constitutes the present invention depends for itsoperation and utility upon the use by voters of balls of any suitablematerial possessing readily calculable weight. The balls are all ofequal weight. Some of the balls are white and others black, the whiterepresenting aye,77 and the black, nay Each member is furnished with arequisite number of balls, to contain which his desk is provided with adrawer. The distribution ot' the balls takes place at the clerks desk,the latter being provided with a number of drawers, A, whichrespectively correspond to a members desk, each drawer being numberedaccording toits destination. The clerk having in charge the white andblack balls dis` tributes them in 4equal proportions tothe drawers A,through the tubes B, which extend from the top of the elerks desk to theseveral drawers, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1l ot' the drawing.After being supplied, the drawers A are transferred to the members desksand substituted for the empty drawers thereof, which are made to takethe places in the clerks desk of the drawers for which they have beenexchanged. The portion of the clerks Vdesk facing the clerk is providedwith other drawers, to suit the requirements of th at officer.

The clerks desk may be located in any oon venient part of theassembly-hall. The most appropriate position, however, is as close aspossible to the elevator l), so that he may control the latter.

In Fig. 1 ot' the drawin gs, which is a plan view of an assembly-hall, Edesignates the clerks desk, and F that of the chairman or presidingofficer. G G1 G2 designate the registering-ii struments, of which thefirst is used to indiA cate the number of aye votes, the second thenumber oi' nay 7 votes, and the third the total ot' votes cast during asingle ballot. Each ot' these registering-instruments is provided withone or more graduated dials, H, upon which the condition ot' the ballotis indicated by means ot' a revolving hand or pointer, h. Theregistering-instrunients are similar to the or dinary springdialbalances ot commerce. To the depending beam of the register G"2 areattached the laterally-extending arms h', which support at theirextremities the registers G Gl, or are connected to thevertically-moving beams ofthe latter. The registers G G1 support, asshown, the boxes I l1, which receive the votes or balls as they passfrom the voters desks through the inclined tubes l2. The number of ballsdeposited is determined by their weight, which so controls the registersasto cause them to indicate the inimberotvotes cast. The collectiveweight ot' the white and black balls is brought to bear on the registerG2, throrigh the medium of the arms i, causing said register' toindicate the total vote cost. A beam, e', ofthe form of aninverted T,srispends each of the boxes I Il from its respective regis ter. Thehorizontal feet of these beams are pivoted to ears at the sides of theboxes, allowing the latter to be tilted toward an inclined way, l, whichleads to the base of the elevator. After each ballot the balls aredumped from the boxes I Il, upon the way K, which has a cliauiiel in oneside to receive and condrictthe balls to an opening, l', in the sideofthe elevator. The elevator is designed for the purpose of transferringthe balls from the inclined way to the asseinbly-room. This apparatusconsists of an ripright rectaiigrilar tribe or casing, containing acarrier, k1, of a three-quarter cylindrical form, its mouth facing theopening 7.'. A bail, ha, hinged to the sides of said carrier, hasattached to it a rope, k, which passes upward and over a windlass-shaft,kt, located at the top of the elevator'. By means of said windlass andrope the carrier is raised and lowered. Into this carrier the balls arereceived from the inclined way and raised to the proper height. Theelevator has near its top a facial extension, L, into which slides adrawer, L1, corresponding to one or more drawers in the clerks desk, andinterchangeable therewith. From the sides ofthe carrier project thecentrally-located strids or arms L2, which hold the bail k2, and travelthrough the slots L3 crit in the sides of the elevator. The upper partsof these slots terminate in quarter-circles, which, as the strids L2pass through, tilt the carrier forward and over the drawer L1, causingit to deposit its contents -therein. Ilivoted to the sides of theelevator,

at the points from which the quarter-circle curves are described, arethe arms M, notched in their under sides to receive the strids L2. whenthe latter reach the proper elevation, These arms move with the studs.Springs M', suitablyT arranged, tend to force said arms downward; hence,when the windlass is released, they throw the carrier back to itsoriginal position, from which it has been tilted. The carrier thendescends for another load, and when near the bottom ofthe elevator, itsstuds L2 press upon the L-shaped levers L4, which are connected to asliding gate, L5, which covers the opening. By this pressure the gate israised, and the balls from` the inclined way allowed to roll into thecarrier. As soon as the latter is raised the gate falls, preventing theballs from passing into the base of the elevator. At the lower ends ofthe slots L, Iiidiafrribber cushions N are placed, to deaden the soundof the arms or studs L2 as the carrier falls. The elevator is under thecontrol of the assembly-clerk.

When the drawer Ll is filled it is transferred to the clerks desk, andan empty drawer taken from the latter placed in the elevator. To therear ends ofthe boxes I Il are attached the vertical plates r', havingpivoted to their upper ends the segmental bars il, having the slightlycurved extensions 2. These bars pass through slots 3 in the beams z, andare notched at it, so that when the boxes are in position the segmentalbars will drop and engage with the beams z. Pins i", at the upper endsof the bars Q71, prevent the boxes from tilting rearwardly. Pivoted tolrigs projecting from the plates at the rear ends of said boxes aretriggers P, by raising the handles of which the extensions 'i2 areact-ed upon, the segmental bars raised and disengaged from the beams z,and the boxes tilted. The front ends of the boxes are so inclined as toallow the balls to fall out easily when the boxes are tilted. Qdesignates a horizontal rotary shaft, armed with two L-shaped rods, Qf,which project, as shown, behind the boxes I Il, and rinder the triggersI). By properly turning said shaft these rods are raised so as toactriate said triggers. The shaft Q holds also two prilley-wheels, R,around which are wound cords It', which are thence curved forward andupward and attached to sliding spring rods S, by pulling which the shaftis turned. The spring-rods may be attached to one of the registers, orto the clerks desk.

The drawers and various receptacles for the balls should be lined withcloth or other suitable material to deaden their sound.

The mouths of the tribes should be made flaring, so that the balls willpass out easily.

The balls n are all appropriately numbered or marked to correspond tothe desks to which they respectively belong, so that the names of thevoters with the character of their vote may be readily ascertained.

Each members desk is provided with two tubes, leading from the top ofthe desk to the boxes I Il, one tribe being designed for black, and theother for white balls. All the white balls pass into the box I, whileall the black balls pass into the box Il. Each tribe has at its ripperend a crip, T, having a spring-slide, T', at its bottom, which holds theball durin g the deliberation ofthe voter.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Iatent,is-

1. The elevator D and connections, in combination with thevote-registering apparatus, substantially as specified.

2. The improved distributing-desk, having the drawers A anddistributing-tribes B, sribstantially as and for the prirpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:

J osEPr-:r ARD, J. MIDnoGH.

JAS. A. CRIS\VELL.

